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Bengal U-25 team got eliminated from the Col. C.K Nayudu trophy after a hard-fought match against Punjab. Ankit Mishra (59/6) was incredible with the ball in the second inning and Habi Gandhi (72) was good at the top of the order for Bengal. But, with a first-inning lead, Punjab was always ahead in the match. Bengal pulled things off in the second innings. But, a middle-order collapse snatched the match away from Bengal. Subhomoy Das, Chairman of the Senior Selection Committee of Bengal was present at the Firoz Shah Kotla stadium to have a close look at the young players. He shared his thoughts in an exclusive interview with Sportz Point.
"We leaked 50 extra runs in the first inning. And, the middle order collapsed after a great start by Habib Gandhi in the second half. We played well, but that was not good enough for an outright win. I must say, it was because of Ankit Mishra that we came back in the match. He was outstanding in the second inning with the ball," Subhomoy Das stated as he shared his thoughts on the Punjab match.
According to him, Bengal cricket is lacking a supply chain of young talents. And, he thinks this is a worry for Bengal cricket. "After Devang (Gandhi) took over, it's now on the right track. But, the supply chain has been lacking in the U-19 sector for the last two to three years."
"Look when we used to play there was me, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Saurasish Lahiri, Ranadev Bose, Amitava Chakrabarty and many others of the same age who played for Bengal. So, there was a pull of young talents. I want the same thing with the Bengal Team now."
Although the tournament was for the Under-25 category, the former Bengal first-class player wants players from 18 to 21 to dominate cricket. "You are not young when you are 25. I want boys from 18-21 to dominate state-level cricket. That is why I think the supply chain is most important. The U25 team is like a Bengal A team. We need to have a pull of young talent to dominate state-level cricket," he added.
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"We are looking for match-winners in the team who can take the team home from any crunch situation. You just can't be a fitting player in the team to fill the squad. The young boys need to understand that. If we want to win Ranji Trophy and dominate first-class cricket, we will need more match winners. Just like Porel (Abishek) did in his first two matches in the Ranji Trophy."
"The problem is that you can not name any other 18-19 year old boys (except Abishek Porel) who are doing that for Bengal. We will need more young ex-factors like him to secure Bengal cricket's future. You need to understand that U-19 cricket is the supply line of state-level cricket," he added.
For the context, Abishek Porel had a superb Cooch Behar trophy. He was the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament (708) before the tournament was paused due to covid. Then he was added to the extended U19 World Cup squad. He came back, and took Bengal out of the misery in his first two Ranji matches for Bengal along with Shahbaz Ahmed.
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"Yes, the seniors are doing great. Shahbaz has been exceptional. Our bowling has been great as well. But we will need more young blood for the future of Bengal cricket."
"Players like Sudip Gharami. Kazi (Junaid Saifi), Habib (Gandhi), Ravi Kumar, Ankit Mishra, and Karan Lal have everything in them to make it big. But they will have to step up whenever there is a crunch moment. I want them to dominate Indian cricket," he added.
Subhomoy Das wants to have a bunch of young players who are ready for the first-class level. That is why he thinks the supply line of Bengal cricket is the most important thing. "We need to make the young boys mature early. That is where junior cricket comes into play. The supply is now on the right track. So, we will have lots of young talent, surely."
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Bengal in the first phase of the Ranji Trophy had a mixture of young and experienced players in the squad. The selection committee is ready to let the young players settle into the team and learn from the experience of senior players.
"We are backing young players. We want them to settle into the team. Look at Sudip Gharami, he was given a full run in the first phase. All of them are very talented. They will have to learn quickly and grow as a player as quickly as possible."
